Abbey Something

Here I am at the most iconic street crossing ever. It was way cool and also life threatening. The Abbey Road intersection is incredibly busy, and you have to just throw yourself out on to the street and hope drivers have the compassion to not run you over. Tons of people every day of the year do this because of that album cover; that's why I risked my life here. I am sure one day a local driver who is late for work is going to get fed up with Beatlemania and plow through a tourist.

Here is Abbey Road Studio and a piece of the wall outside that is covered with signatures and tributes. All you need is love! And there is so much Beatles love. I met people from four countries in front of this studio. Well before the internet, the Fab Four were bringing the world together, and they still do today.

And now for another Abbey...

I went inside Westminster Abbey yesterday and took the full tour with the talking headset. The voice of Jeremy Irons guided me through all the hot spots. What an Abbey this place is! There are so many kings and queens and writers and religious people buried there that you can't help but feel your mortality and your smallness, which I think is important to feel on occasion. It is no surprise that my favorite section is the writers' corner. People like Chaucer and Auden are buried there. I saw a bust on the wall of Jane Austen and must look up if she is buried there, too. I imagine she is. Shakespeare has a terrific monument; although, his remains are actually buried in Stratford upon Avon. However, beneath his monument in the Abbey are the gravestones of Laurence Olivier and his wife. Nice. You can't take pictures in the Abbey. I would have loved to show parts of the tour, but all I can show you is the lunch I ate in the Abbey cafe.

Beautiful plates, yummy salads. And speaking of appetites...I have seen several people reading 50 Shades of Gray on the tube. Here is one woman; I hid her face as not to shame her because of her attraction to...ahem... abbey-normal bedroom behavior. To each her own.

And speaking of to each her own...here is the best bus advert EVER. I want the buses in LA to carry this signage:

That sign says it all! It is the argument we should all start using in the face of sexual bigotry. "Some people are gay. Get over it." 'Nuff said.
          And now, I would like to take a moment to air my own abbey-normal behavior:  God, I love shoes. (The way some people love the Beatles and the way some people love religion.) I saw a woman in these shoes on the tube, and now I can't stop thinking about them. I really want them. I hope I can find them when I am back in LA. There seems to be a holy glow around them in the picture, as if God is sending me a message: "Buy these shoes, Lauren, even if they cost a fortune-they were meant for you, and you will be so happy in them." Yes, I am sure that is what God is saying to me, and He and I are really tight after that tour of the Abbey. He wants what's best for me.